Jamais Vu
by AnonymousLlama
Summary: "If I ever forget, I'll simply just fall in love with you again." One shot. Written for a prompt challenge on Tumblr. Nathan/MC


I retreat from the kitchen to my bedroom where I proceed to fall face first into my bed. My nose is pressed into the soft sheets.

I lie still; but all too soon the need to breathe becomes too urgent, and I turn my head to the side. I vaguely remember the paper that needs to be finished as exhaustion hits me full force. _Eh, I'll do it when I get up._ Any and all thought fades as my breathing slows.

* * *

I open my eyes momentarily, attempting to blink away the sleep obscuring my line of sight. However, sleep wins; and I stare at the ceiling before my eyelids droop once more.

The feeling of cold, stale air floats around me; and I frown at the chilliness. Rolling over, I curl up into a little ball attempting to create some sort of heat.

I feel warmth emanate from in front of me and instinctively lean into it, snuggling deeper into the reassuring heat.

Soft wisps of hair tickle at my cheeks, and I rub at my face hoping to alleviate the nuisance. Groaning when it won't go away, I open my eyes again. My vision is obscured by light brown hair, and I blink twice before letting my eyes fall shut again.

Wait.

_That isn't right. My hair isn't that color._

Now wide awake, I take in the cream colored expanse of skin in front of me. I blink. A male chest. A very _naked_ male chest.

My eyes widen before traveling up his neck, to his face, where I catch a pair of warm brown eyes looking down at me. I freeze under his gaze before gawking in disbelief.

Who the hell is he, and how did he get into _my_ bed?

The man shifts slightly, interrupting my line of thought; he props his head up with one arm, the other falling across my stomach.

"'Morning," he whispers, his voice still thick with sleep. His arm tightens around my waist, pulling my body close to his own.

I feel my skin stretch to accommodate the widening of my eyes to a near impossible diameter.

He nuzzles my cheek before letting his face fall into the crook of my neck. I can't suppress the shiver provoked by his breathing on my bare skin. I squirm, attempting to put some kind of distance between us. However, this doesn't deter him, and his grip only tightens pulling me flush against him. Our chests are pressed together, now. The sensation of skin on skin causes me to finally notice my nudity—OH MY GOD. A strangled shriek escapes me, the noise getting caught in my throat.

I shove at his chest. My fighting must surprise him since I easily propel myself from his embrace.

I tumble off of the edge of the bed. Bare skin meets the cold wooden floor, and the man stares down at me, confused. I reach for the nearest thing to cover myself, fingers gripping a thin white sheet that had fallen off of the bed with me.

He continues to watch me, frowning now, "Hey, are you o—"

I hide myself behind it.

"DON'T LOOK AT ME!"

He freezes in confusion. "N-Nora?"

"How do you know my name?" I interrupt whatever he was going to say, my voice borderline hysterical. "Who are you? Why are we—" I motion between our bodies, hoping he understands enough that I don't have to say it out loud, before realization dawns on me. "Oh my god," my hand goes to my forehead while the other secures the thin sheet across my chest. I divert my eyes to anywhere but the man in front of me. "We-We…_Oh my god_." I slept with a stranger.

_I slept with a stranger._

I think I'm gonna be sick.

He slides out of bed after me, the covers falling away.

His male..._bits_ hang between his legs. He makes no move to hide them, giving me an unhindered view of all of him.

I don't even try to hide my shock as I stare at his...his _thing._

"Can you cover that?!" I squeeze my eyes shut, hand falling from my forehead to cover them, "Please!"

I can't control my voice any longer, as I become hysterical. The image of his most_ intimate_ part is now ingrained into my mind. I squeeze my eyes tighter together willing the mental picture to go away but it only becomes more vivid.

At the sound of rustling fabric, I cautiously peer at him through my fingers. He fastens a button on black trousers, securing them to his hips before looking back at me.

My hand falls away from my face only to wrap my arm protectively around myself.

He reaches a cautious hand towards me as if trying to approach a terrified animal, his voice concerned, "Nora—"

In that moment, I'm terrified as I finally understand the gravity of this specific situation. I'm naked, trapped in a room god knows where with a man that I've never seen before. I flinch back instinctively at his approaching hand.

"D-Don't touch me," I beg, my voice shakes with each syllable. "Please."

He freezes at my plea. Shear, unadulterated horror is plainly splayed across his face.

He stumbles back, as if he'd been struck. But, I had the feeling that my words and tone of voice were affecting him more than any violence would.

He averts his eyes, looking anywhere but me, instead bending over to retrieve several unnoticed garments from the floor.

"Here," he holds out the pieces of fabric to me. "Get dressed. I-I'll be right back." He picks up another white piece of cloth before exiting the room, dejected.

I spot feminine undergarments several feet away and slip them on before pulling on the pants and shirt that the man had handed me.

As I'm buttoning the last button, I hear two male voices. There words are muffled by the door obstructing their way. The thought of escape occurs to me for several fleeting moments; however, that idea is quickly shot down. The only exit is currently being blocked by at least two people. Attempting any sort of spontaneous escape plan would be futile. And just plain stupid.

The door cracks slightly, and the man from before peeks in. Satisfied with my state of dress, he opens the door wider and another, much darker, man follows him into the room.

I step backwards, my back hits the wall, and the new man frowns.

He slows down his steps but still walks towards me, "Nora?"

I continue to stare at him, hoping that if I don't move he won't see me. _Maybe if I don't move he can't see me. _

I almost shake my head at how absurd that just sounded. _This isn't Jurassic Park, stupid. And he definitely isn't a tyrannosaurus._

"Do you know who I am?" He questions. I continue to stare. Maybe if I run really fast I can get around them both. A brief glance behind him quickly shoots down that idea. The room isn't that big, and even if I somehow manage to get around one of them the other will just grab me.

Looking back up the dark haired man, I notice that he's begun to look worried. Oh, he asked me a question. I shake my head 'no'.

"Okay," he says, but his tone of voice and expression definitely deem that this is _not_ okay. "My name is Christopher, and I'm going to bring you to the infirmary. Is that alright?"

Infirmary? Why-? I should probably just obey. Then once I see a window of escape, take it. They have the upper hand; I have to wait for my moment.

With new resolve I shake my head in compliance and follow the 'Christopher' out of the room.

We step into the hallway, and I look around. Wooden floors. Wooden walls. Wooden doors. Why is everything made of wood?

Just as I'm about to vocalize my curiosity, the floor shakes slightly throwing me off balance. I feel myself stumbling and put a hand out against the wall to steady myself.

"Woah!" the man, Christopher, grips my elbow. "You okay?"

I nod, "W-What was that?", instantly cringing at how small and meek my voice sounds.

"A wave."

I don't have time to dwell on how weak I probably appear right now, as I absorb his words. My eyes widen. "A-A wave?" I parrot. "We're on a ship?"

Both men share a look.

He turns back to me before smiling softly, "Yes."

So that's why everything's made of wood.

No.

No, no, no _no_. This can't be right. There's no way I'm on a ship. My chest tightens, and the muscles in my stomach clench as a wave of nausea sweeps over me. How do I not remember getting on a ship? This has to be some kind of dream. Yeah. This is all a dream. A really _vivid_ dream.

"Hunh," I laugh, self deprecatingly. "I've finally gone insane."

"What?"

"You guys aren't real; none of this is real. This is all a vivid hallucination induced by sleep deprivation. I knew not sleeping was going to catch up to me. Just didn't think it'd be _this_ bad."

"Nora-"

I cut him off, "What kind of ship is this anyway?" All traces of meekness completely devoid, now. They can't hurt me if all of this is in my head.

Silence. They both stare at me. I raise an eyebrow.

"A pirate ship."

"You're pirates?"

The paler man nods, staring at me as if I'd grown a second head.

"Hunh. How lovely." I look at Christopher, "Weren't we going to the infirmary?"

* * *

"Alright, Nora. I'm going to ask you a few questions. Is that alright?"

I nod. Might as well entertain this delusion.

"We'll start off with something easy. What did you have for dinner last night?"

"A turkey sandwich."

"No," we both turned to look at Nathan. "I made onion soup last night. You even cut up the onions."

"I'm allergic to onions," I tell him. "They cause me to break out in hives."

Nathan's frown deepens; and he opens his mouth to say more, but Christopher cuts him off.

"That's enough, Nate," he says sharply, voice demanding obedience. He looks back at me and smiles softly. "Okay. Let's try this again. What's the last thing you do remember?"

"I remember," I think back to yesterday. "I got home from university. I ate my sandwich," I glance at Nathan to see the irritation increase in his face, "Then, I-I was tired, so I decided to take a nap. I woke up, and I was here."

"In Nathan's room?"

I spare another glance at said brunette. He returns it with a serious one of his own. "Yes."

"Hmmm." Christopher's eyebrows scrunch together, causing them to liken into that of a unibrow.

He goes on to ask several more questions, staring down with a frown when he's done.

"What's wrong with her, doc?"

"It seems that she has memory loss."

Memory loss? My memory's just fine! I become livid for a moment before remembering the situation. I chuckle to myself. _My hallucination's diagnosing me. How cute._

The men are too focused on each other to notice my amusement.

Nathan's eyebrows furrow before he mumbles, "Alan" then storms out of the medical bay.

My grin drops as I stare up at Christopher, "Who?"

He smiles wryly where Nathan had been only moments before.

"Um, he's the captain of a rival pirate ship." _Of course he is._

I raise an eyebrow, still not understanding what Nathan meant.

"He has a crush on you-"

"'Alan'?"

Christopher nods. "And he's convinced that either you do love him and are just playing hard to get or that he can get you to fall for him. It could be that he's done something to make you forget Nathan so that he'd have a chance with you."

"That's stupid," I comment, before the rest of his reply registers. "Wait. Why would he want me to forget Nathan?"

Christopher looks uncomfortable before answering, "Because you two are dating."

Well, that explains the way I woke up a little while ago. I stare off before breaking the silence with a snort, "Ha! If I wasn't convinced this was a hallucination earlier, I sure am now. Two men? Interested in me?"

He frowns at me; but before anything else can be said, my stomach decides to put its two cents in. With a loud gurgle, it announces that it requires nourishment.

I wrap my arms around myself, fruitlessly trying to muffle the loud sounds that the tiny organ insists on making. Much to my chagrin, Christopher chuckles, "Looks like you're hungry." I pout in indignance, and he grins easily at me. "Come on. Let's go get you something to eat."

I slide off of the examination table, feet hitting the floor with an audible thud. Following him out of the infirmary, we head to wherever I assume there's food.

We walk down the hallway from earlier. At least, I think it's the same hallway. Everything looks the same. The walls are a monotonous brown with no distinct markings.

Christopher reaches for a door, but stops at the sound of a new voice.

"Hey, Nora?" I spin around at the sound of my name. A blonde man stands several feet away, "What's wrong with Nathan? He's all pissy." My eyes widen at the information. Pissy?

The blonde man looks confused at what I assume is the doe eyed expression displayed so openly across my face. "Wha-"

"Russ," Christopher decides to intervene. "Go get the others. Bring them to the dining room."

"Why? What's going on?" He briefly glances at me.

"I'll explain it to everyone at the same time."

'Russ' looks uneasy but nods anyway before stalking off.

Christopher ushers me into the room, and gestures for me to sit down. I'm about to ask why the entire crew needs to come in here, when the man from a moment ago, Russ, returns with three new men.

"Russell said ya needed to tell us somethin?" a man with an eyepatch questions.

He has an eyepatch. I grin like an idiot at his profile.

He turns to look at me, "What the hell are you smilin at?"

"You have an eyepatch," I state, grin still intact.

He looks confused before glaring at me, "No shit."

"Ed," as Christopher uses a warning tone with 'Ed', the door opens to reveal Nathan. He steps into the room, quietly, and our eyes meet. A pained look flits across his face causing me to frown. I think back to what Christopher said about us. _Is that look my fault? Am I the cause of that pain?_ The guilt trickles down my spine, and I just have the overwhelming urge to run. I'd made a habit out of running from my problems and this wouldn't be any different.

"Just say what you called us here for. We haven't got all day."

Christopher scratches at the back of his neck uncomfortably, "It seems that Nora is suffering from some sort of memory loss. She doesn't remember anything."

With that all six pair of eyes are now on me. I look down uncomfortably, and the harsh voice of the eyepatch man speaks again, "She doesn't remember _anything_?"

"Not even Nathan?" the ginger boy sounds horrified at the fact that I don't know who the brunette is.

"She seems to have forgotten everything including all of us and everything that's happened," Christopher answers, before adding, "It's strange though. She does have memories, but it's as if she's a different person."

Ignoring his little addition, Ed goes on to ask, "Do we know what caused it?"

"No. We don't know how it happened or how long it will last. We don't know whether it's permanent, either." I didn't like it. The way they were talking about me as if I weren't here.

"So, she claims she doesn't know us?" Russell comments, each word interlaced with skepticism.

"'Claims'?" I repeat the word, and they all look at me. However, I direct my next words at the ignorant blonde. "Why would I lie about this? Please tell me cause I'd like to know. If I really am who you keep saying I am, what would I get out of lying?"

"You could be playing a joke."

I stare at him before deadpanning, "You're an idiot."

The guy with the eyepatch smirks. "Glad to see you haven't lost your niche for pointing out the obvious."

I open my mouth to insult him too, but the man I assume is the captain speaks up. He has a loud demanding voice that somehow manages to stay easygoing. I decide that it's a trait unique to him.

"Well, it seems like introductions are in order then," he says with a large smile. Each of the men introduce themselves.

Before anything else can be said, Nathan's sharp voice cuts through the room, "Are we done here? Cause the meal ain't gonna cook itself."

"Uh, yeah," that's all he needs to hear, and Nathan stomps out of the room slamming the door behind him. He leaves an uncomfortable silence in his wake.

"Thomas?" the captain breaks the silence. "Show Nora around the ship will ya?"

"Of course," he says happily. "Come on, Nora." I follow him out of the room. We walk down the hallway, uniform walls still confusing. With no distinct markings, the walls all look the same. I foresee myself getting lost. A lot.

The smell of salt water becomes stronger with each step, and after walking up several steps we're on deck.

As Thomas acquaints me with the various parts and places on the ship, we make small talk. He's really helpful, answering any questions I have with enthusiasm. We carry on the conversation easily, but one thing he says seems to stick out more than anything, "You've been on this ship for a year and a half…"

'A year and a half'? Have I really been here _that_ long?

Shortly after the little tour is done, I bid the younger boy farewell. He has chores, and I have questions that hopefully Christopher can help me with. Thomas grins widely at me, "Okay! Just tell me if you need anything!"

"Will do," I reply before wandering off to find the ship's resident doctor.

* * *

"Christopher?" I ask, quietly rapping my knuckles against the door of the infirmary.

A muffled 'come in' resounds through the door, so I twist the doorknob and push open the door. Christopher is at a table mixing several plants. _'Herbs?_' I silently wonder.

"Oh, hi, Nora."

He glances at me before setting down what he's doing, turning completely to give me his absolute attention.

"What can I help you with?"

"Well," I begin, wringing my hands. "Since you were so helpful earlier, I was wondering if you could maybe answer a few questions that I have?"

He smiles genuinely, "Of course." He motions for me to sit, and he does so as well.

"Okay. What would you like to know?"

_'You've been on this ship for a year and a half...'_

"How did Nora, well me actually. How did _I_ even get on a pirate ship in the first place?"

Christopher chuckles, the happy sound bringing a small smile to my face, "It was a complete accident, actually."

"'Accident'?"

"It's a funny story, really," Christopher began, before launching into a tale of thugs and barrels with me eventually being introduced to the crew. Where the captain from earlier, Morgan, allowed me to stay.

And, apparently, they all decided that I needed a babysitter, so they paired me up with Nathan, "Eventually you two fell in love. We all saw it coming, well maybe not Russell. He's a little dense if you've noticed."

"I have," I tell him, all too aware of the amused grin that's stretched itself across my face at the thought of the ditzy blonde.

"Like I was saying, you two fell in love. Been happy together for about a year now."

"Oh," We were happy? There's that guilt again, eating at me. I stare down at my lap willing the negative feeling to go away.

Christopher must notice because he suggests, "Maybe you should go talk to him."

My head snaps up. Talk to him? Is he completely insane?

"It couldn't hurt." Yes it could. It could end in disaster. I could say the wrong thing. I could mess everything up. _Wouldn't be the first time_, the thought echoes through my head; and I flinch at the mere mention of my past failures.

"You should go. Even if you don't know what to say, he could benefit from just being around you," he encourages. When I hesitate, he continues. "He _loves_ you, Nora. And the fact that you don't remember him or what you two had, it's eating at him. Please."

He squeezes my shoulder, and I sigh. "Okay." _Damn me for being such a push over._

Christopher smiles, "He's in the kitchen."

I look up, confused, "How do you know?"

"He's the chef." My mouth forms an 'o' before I head off to find Nathan.

* * *

Mentally backtracking to Thomas' tour of the ship, I walk towards where I think the kitchen is. After walking into two closets and someone's bedroom, I finally find it.

I step into the kitchen. Nathan's back is to me. Unlike earlier, his head is wrapped in a black bandana, only several tufts of brown hair stick out of it. His arm jerks around as he stabs furiously at the mutilated piece of…whatever that used to be. Without turning around, he practically snarls, "What have I told ya bout comin into _my_ kitchen?"

Oh, wow. Russell wasn't kidding.

I flinch at his harsh tone, desiring more than anything to run away from the cross man in front of me. _Christopher said I should talk to him. But, did he always talk to me like this_? I momentarily ponder this before realizing that I should answer him. "Uh, hi." There I go with that meek voice again.

Nathan turns around from the counter, eyes wide in surprise. "Hi," he sets down the knife. "I didn't know it was you or else I wouldn't o' yelled like that." Well, guess that answers that question.

He watches me with the same look from this morning in his eyes. That intense look, the one brimming with such adoration it makes me want to turn around to make sure it's really me that he's looking at like that and not someone else.

We hold each others' gaze for several moments and end up speaking at the same time.

"I'm sor-"  
"Do you-"

"You go first."

"No you. What you have to say is probably more important anyway."

Okay then. "I'm sorry," he raises an eyebrow.

I look down at my feet, before continuing, "I'm sorry that I don't remember anything. You or this ship or the guys. I went to sleep in one life and woke up in an entirely different one," I pause, inhaling a shaky breath, "My point is that I don't have any memories of before, and I don't know why this happened. But...but there is one thing that I'm certain of...that you _do_ love me. The way you look at me, no one's ever looked at me like that before. It's just…I don't even know. It-It's kind of scary," my head snaps up and I wave my hands in front of me frantically, "Not that you're scary. Because you're not. I meant that the situation. It's scary because it's uncomfortable. I really hope that makes sense. I-I've never really been a fan of the unknown. I like being comfortable, and all of this, it throws, no, it launches me out of my comfort zone. I guess what I'm trying to say is that even though I'm not exactly comfortable, I'd like to try this," I motion between us. "I'd like to try us. See if it's possible to fall in love with you like everyone says it was like before." I end my babbling, cheeks practically on fire. I'm torn between relief that I finally stopped talking and terror at what his response could possibly be.

He stares at me for several moments, and I wonder if maybe I've gone too far; so I quickly add, "Only if you want, of course." Despite my little addition, his face remains unchanged. He continues to stare, expression unreadable.

In turn, I feel my face fall. Maybe he doesn't want me after all. _Good job, Nora. Screwed everything up yet again, have we? I knew this was a bad idea._

A quiet snort from him interrupts my line of thought.

"There you go again," he says quietly.

What? I frown, about to ask him what he means when he looks at me. Brown meets brown, and I freeze. _Great. Just great. Christopher was wrong. I should have just kept my big mouth shut. I really did mess this up._

He smiles softly at me. "In our relationship, you were the one to take initiative. We wouldn't have been together if you hadn't stepped up and done something. I-I guess I was too afraid," he looks away, a dusty pink color taking residence in his cheeks, "But, now I'm only afraid of losing you. I told you before that I'd fight for ya, and I meant it." _Or maybe not._

He blushes even darker, and I grin up at him.

"So does that mean we'll start over?"

"I'd like that."

I hold out my hand towards him, "Hi. I'm Nora."

An amused grin plays upon his lips. He takes my hand, grasping it firmly, "Nathan."

**~1 year later~**

We were dancing in the kitchen. Swaying gently to a tune only the two of us could hear. His arms had wound themselves tightly around my waist, while my hands gripped his shoulders.

My temple rests on his chest. His heartbeat is racing. It never ceased to amaze me the effect I had on him. That this large, serious man could become putty in my small hands within seconds.

I'd only ever thought that things like this happened in the movies. True and unconditional love had always been a joke to me. I mean, real people and story characters were polar opposites, right? _Real_ people could never be like that. Or so I'd thought. I'll gladly admit that I was wrong. Because I was. I was wrong. About love, about pirates, about everything.

I never did get my 'memories' back. And after several days, I accepted that this wasn't an hallucination. You can thank Alan for that.

Somewhere off in the distance I could hear muffled voices. The other crew members talking most likely. Though, I don't dwell on them for more than a few moments because the man in front of me has captured my complete attention yet again.

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

**Fin.**


End file.
